He returned last weekend to his hometown in San Antonio to watch his jersey retirement after starring at Karen Wagner High School as a three-year letter winner and 2010 McDonald’s All-American finalist.

“It was a blessing coming from where we’re from,” said Clarkson, whom the Lakers selected with their 46th pick in last year’s NBA Draft after he starred at the University of Missouri. “There’s not too many people that make it out and make it to the league and stuff like that. It was cool to see that happen.”

Clarkson then soon returned to Los Angeles to resume his on-court training. That included working out for a few hours with veteran guard Steve Nash, who has recently taken on a mentorship role after staying away from the team amid a season-long back injury.

“He’s a great and a future Hall of Famer,” Clarkson said. “Being able to pick his mind is just a blessing for me. I’m going to continue to learn and pick his brain every time I’m around him.”

After averaging 13.4 points on 39 percent shooting, 3.8 assists and 1.9 turnovers in 10 starts, Clarkson said he and Nash worked on various fundamental drills that forced him to keep his chest up to maintain his balance, help see the floor better and allow him to take more open pull-up jumpers.

“A lot of teams are trying to take the drive away. We worked on staying lower, getting into my stuff quicker, being able to see the floor and making reads faster,” Clarkson said. “That can help me get my teammates involved and make the right passes.”

Clarkson and Nash have both worked out and had informal text-messge conversations in recent weeks.

“You can see his passion is still there,” Clarkson said of the 41-year-old Nash. “He’s still got a jumper and all that. He can still play. But I want to get on that floor with him now.”

A different perspective

A few days in New York gave Jeremy Lin two things that he lacked for most of the 2014-15 season. He relaxed with family and also regained strength from an increased diet and workout routine after a recent stomach issue reduced his workload.

“I can’t remember laughing as much as I did as the last few days,” said Lin, who wants to reduce his turnovers and improve his efficiency. “I was able to clear my mind.”

Lineup change

Lakers coach Byron Scott said he will “probably make another lineup change just to get some other guys some time to just go out there and show what they can do.”

Ellington missed Wednesday’s practice because of stomach issues. Although the Lakers (13-40) list him as questionable for Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets (21-31) at Staples Center, Scott believes Ellington will play.

Mark Medina has been the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News since 2012. He also works as a Lakers insider for AM570 and is heard on national radio outlets, including The Dan Patrick Show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Chris Mannix Show, Fox Sports Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Yahoo! Sports Radio and SB Nation Radio. Medina also appears frequently on Spectrum SportsNet and NBC4's "Going Roggin."